Idar-Oberstein

Me and Becky waiting for our food

Labor Camp memorial

A small church at the Labor Camp memorial

Peek-a-boo

View of Idar-Oberstein from the church in the rocks

The church in the rocks

A small memorial on the way up to the castle

View from the castle

Trying to get in

Enjoying the view from the castle

A gorgeous bridge on the way to a small berg

View of the castle from the small berg

We were being silly. These are our "butt shots"

Looking straight down from the berg

On Saturday there was a chaplain's trip to Idar-Oberstein. We took a little detour before we got to the city and toured a former labor camp's memorial. It was really beautiful. All of the headstones that are there don't have any names on them. Most of the 11,000 to 13,000 people who died at this camp are unknown. After we left the memorial we had lunch at a really delicious german restaurant. I tried duck for the first time! It was very tender and juicy and seasoned perfectly. That wasn't what I ordered though. I hadn't had any schnitzel yet so that's what I got. It was really good too. After lunch we started to make our way to Die Felsenkirche (The Church in the Rock). This church was built between 1482 and 1484 as a penance for fratricide. After the church, we headed to the Oberstein Castle and Bosselstein Castle.

The towns of Idar and Oberstein belonged to the barons of Daun-Oberstein (who later became the counts of Falkenstein) until 1670. In 1865, both Idar and Oberstein were chartered as cities, and finally in 1933, they united (along with the smaller towns of Algenrodt and Tiefenstein) to form the modern town of Idar-Oberstein. The Felsenkirche and two medieval castles are perched on the hills above the town, and are, after gemstones and jewelry, the chief tourist attractions in the city. Apparently, Bruce Willis was born in Idar-Oberstein.

Anyways, I had a blast and got a ton of pictures! Enjoy!!